National Parks Of India

In the 13th century, Marco Polo, in his “Book of marvels”, described India as a wondrous land filled with curious animals such as elephants, rhinos, great striped cats. Indian wildlife is very rich and varied. Many national parks were the private hunting grounds of maharajas until 1947.

India’s first national park was established in 1935 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park. By 1970, India only had five national parks. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard the habitats and conservation of endangered species. There are 99 existing national parks in India covering an area of 38,155 km2, which is 1.19% of the geographical area of the country (National Wildlife Database, March 2009).

LIST OF NATIONAL PARKS

Name State Year started Area (in km²)

1. Anshi National Park Karnataka 1987 250

2. Balphakram National Park Meghalaya 1986 220

3. Bandhavgarh National Park Madhya Pradesh 1982 448.85

4. Bandipur National Park Karnataka 1974 874.20

5. Bannerghatta National Park Karnataka 1974 104.27

6. Vansda National Park Gujarat 1979 23.99

7. Betla National Park Jharkhand 1986 231.67

8. Bhitarkanika National Park Orissa 1988 145

9. Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar Gujarat 1976 34.08

10. Buxa Tiger Reserve West Bengal 1992 117.10

11. Campbell Bay National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1992 426.23

12. Chandoli National Park Maharashtra 2004 317.67

13. Corbett National Park Uttarakhand 1936 520.82

14. Dachigam National Park Jammu & Kashmir 1981 141

15. Desert National Park Rajasthan 1980 3162

16. Dibru-Saikhowa National Park Assam 1999 340

17. Dudhwa National Park Uttar Pradesh 1977 490.29

18. Eravikulam National Park Kerala 1978 97

19. Fossil National Park Madhya Pradesh 1983 0.27

20. Galathea National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1992 110

21. Gangotri National Park Uttarakhand 1989 1552.73

22. Gir National Park Gujarat 1975 258.71

23. Gorumara National Park West Bengal 1994 79.45

24. Govind Pashu Vihar Uttarakhand 1990 472.08

25. Great Himalayan National Park Himachal Pradesh 1984 754.40

26. Gugamal National Park Maharashtra 1987 361.28

27. Guindy National Park Tamil Nadu 1976 2.82

28. Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park Gujarat 1980 162.89

29. Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park Tamil Nadu 1980 6.23

30. Hemis National Park Jammu & Kashmir 1981 4100

31. Hazaribag National Park Jharkhand 183.89

32. Indira Gandhi National Park Tamil Nadu 1989 117.10

33. Indravati National Park Chhattisgarh 1981 1258.37

34. Intanki National Park Nagaland 1993 202.02

35. Kalesar National Park Haryana 2003 100.88

36. Kanha National Park Madhya Pradesh 1955 940

37. Kanger Ghati National Park Chhattisgarh 1982 200

38. Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park Andhra Pradesh 1994 1.42

39. Kaziranga National Park Assam 1974 429.98

40. Keibul Lamjao National Park Manipur 1977 40

41. Keoladeo National Park Rajasthan 1981 28.73

42. Khangchendzonga National Park Sikkim 1977 1784

43. Kishtwar National Park Jammu & Kashmir 1981 400

44. Kudremukh National Park Karnataka 1987 600.32

45. Madhav National Park Madhya Pradesh 1959 375.22

46. Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1983 281.50

47. Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park Andhra Pradesh 1994 14.59

48. Manas National Park Assam 1990 500

49. Mathikettan Shola National Park Kerala 2003 12.82

50. Middle Button Island National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1987 0.64

51. Mollem National Park Goa 1978 107

52. Mouling National Park Arunachal Pradesh 1986 483

53. Mount Abu National Park Rajasthan 1960 288

54. Mount Harriet National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1987 46.62

55. Mrugavani National Park Andhra Pradesh 1994 3.60

56. Mudumalai National Park Tamil Nadu 1990 103.24

57. Mukurthi National Park Tamil Nadu 1990 78.46

58. Murlen National Park Mizoram 1991 200

59. Nagarhole National Park Karnataka 1988 643.39

60. Namdapha National Park Arunachal Pradesh 1983 1985.23

61. Nameri National Park Assam 1998 200

62. Nanda Devi National Park Uttarakhand 1982 630.00

63. Navegaon National Park Maharashtra 1975 133.88

64. Neora Valley National Park West Bengal 1986 88

65. Nokrek National Park Meghalaya 1986 47.48

66. North Button Island National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1987 0.44

67. Orang National Park Assam 1999 78.80

68. Palani Hills National Park Tamil Nadu 736.87

69. Panna National Park Madhya Pradesh 1973 542.67

70. Pench National Park Madhya Pradesh 1975 292.85

71. Pench National Park Maharashtra 1975 257.26

72. Periyar National Park Kerala 1982 350

73. Phawngpui Blue Mountain National Park Mizoram 1997 50

74. Pin Valley National Park Himachal Pradesh 1987 675

75. Rajaji National Park Uttarakhand 1983 820.42

76. Rajiv Gandhi National Park karnataka 2003 200

77. Rani Jhansi Marine National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1996 256.14

78. Ranthambore National Park Rajasthan 1980 392

79. Saddle Peak National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1987 32.54

80. Salim Ali National Park Jammu & Kashmir 1992 9.07

81. Sanjay National Park Chhattisgarh 1981 1471.13

82. Sanjay National Park Madhya Pradesh 1981 466.88

83. Sanjay Gandhi National Park Mumbai Maharashtra 1983 86.96

84. Sariska National Park Rajasthan 1982 273.80

85. Satpura National Park Madhya Pradesh 1981 585.17

86. Silent Valley National Park Kerala 1984 89.52

87. Sirohi National Park Manipur 1982 0.41

88. Simlipal National Park Orissa 1980 845.70

89. Singalila National Park West Bengal 1992 78.60

90. South Button Is National Park Andaman & Nicobar 1987 0.03

91. Sri Venkateswara National Park Andhra Pradesh 1989 353.62

92. Sultanpur National Park Haryana 1989 1.43

93. Sundarbans National Park West Bengal 1984 1330.10

94. Tadoba National Park Maharashtra 1955 116.55

95. Valley of Flowers National Park Uttarakhand 1982 87.50

96. Valmiki National Park Bihar 1989 335.65

97. Van Vihar National Park Madhya Pradesh 1979 4.45

State wise List of National Parks

(Sequence given below is: Name of National Park, Year of establishment, Area (in